Falling interest rates on saving accounts – some plunging as low as 0.05 per cent – are creating an unexpected boom in demand for home safes as people take their money out of banks.

And although householders might spend £300 on a highly-rated safe to keep notes and a few valuables such as a jewellery and passports, there is also demand for cupboard-sized vaults that are not only almost as hard to break into as Fort Knox but are also fireproof. They come with a high price tag too – with some costing £10,000.

In recent years, major banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Bank have stopped offering safe deposit boxes in a bid to save money – leaving challenger banks to plug the gap. Here is our guide to securing the best safe.

Safe hands: Toni Alder says it is vital to tell your insurance company what you plan to store in your safe

BUY APPROVED PRODUCTS

It is vital to seek expert advice before going out to buy a safe, says Steffan George, a director at the trade body Master Locksmiths Association.

He says: ‘Buying a safe is nowhere near as straightforward as you might imagine. It is important to work out what you are going to use the safe for before buying one that is built to professionally recognised standards.

For £200 a year, try a strongbox in the vault

Safe and sound: The South East-based challenger Metro Bank offers safe deposit box facilities from £200 a year

Unfortunately, most high street banks no longer offer a bank vault service, but there are still some specialist providers.

The South East-based challenger Metro Bank offers safe deposit box facilities from £200 a year for a 7.5cm by 12.5cm by 54.5cm locker – and up to £675 a year for a 25.5cm by 25.5cm by 54.5cm safe box.

Royal Bank of Scotland-owned Coutts operates a safe house for its customers in the Strand, Central London.

It charges from £35 a year for an ‘envelope- sized’ space up to £350 for large items, ‘perhaps a sculpture or painting’.

The State Bank of India typically charges between £150 and £200 a year to use its safe deposit boxes.

Specialists such as Metropolitan Safe Deposits offer security at two vaults in London – Knightsbridge and St John’s Wood.

These start at £95 a year for a 4.5cm by 11cm by 41cm security box and go up to £2,403 for a safe space measuring 64cm by 61cm by 46cm.

Valuables kept in bank vaults are not usually covered under home insurance but you may be able to pay extra – perhaps £50 a year – for your treasures to be covered outside the home as well.

The bank will offer top security but not insure your items.

Under Financial Conduct Authority rules that are designed to stamp out money laundering, safe deposit box users must provide a photo and proof of identity to rent a box.

It is also a good idea to tell family and inform a solicitor to ensure that any valuables are also mentioned in any will.

'I have seen a shop-bought safe that looked the part right until it was dropped on the floor and the locked door flew open.’

The security of a safe can be measured using strict manufacturing standards that vary depending on the level of security required – and the value of cash and treasures that you want looking after.

These standards are given a stamp of approval by the Association of Insurance Surveyors – which is recognised by a purple ‘AiS approved’ logo stamp.

Toni Alder, a locksmith for British safe manufacturer Insafe, says: ‘Before buying a safe discuss the requirements of what you want to store in it with your insurance company – the amount of cash you might want to keep under lock and key as well as valuables, such as jewellery and personal documents.

Get the facts: It is vital to seek expert advice before going out to buy a safe, says Steffan George, a director at the trade body Master Locksmiths Association

‘Then go armed with this information to a reputable locksmith who should be able to find and fit the perfect safe for your needs.’

Safe security is not just measured on how tough the box is to crack open – it can also come with fire ratings for those concerned about how valuables such as paper documents or computer material might survive if engulfed in flames.

Quality safes are sold with ratings meeting European standards – and you want one that at least has an EN 114450 benchmark as recognised by the Association of Insurance Surveyors.

With a basic ‘S1’ rating an insurer should cover for any theft of up to £2,000 in cash and £20,000 of valuables that has been locked up inside a safe. An ‘S2’ rating covers you for up to £4,000 cash.

Added security is offered with the European safe standard EN1143. These safes are separately graded from a lowest ‘0’ – cash rating £6,000 and jewellery up to £60,000 – right up to ‘13’ where you can sleep tight knowing up to £3.5million of cash and £35 million in valuables is covered by an insurer.

CHOOSE LOCK AND KEY

How you keep the safe locked is another consideration. Decide whether you prefer a set of keys or an electronic lock with perhaps a four-digit PIN code that must be tapped in to open.

The downside of keys is that you might lose them or they get stolen – while, of course, a PIN has to be remembered. A locksmith who sold you the safe may provide a backup code in case of emergencies.

Steffan George says: ‘Ensure a safe is professionally installed or you could be putting all your valuables in one place and making the job easier for burglars. It is like putting all your precious items into a goldfish bowl.’

Openings: Decide whether you prefer a set of keys or an electronic lock with perhaps a four-digit PIN code that must be tapped in to open

A locksmith might charge £150 to install and fix a safe to a solid wall or to the floor inside your home.

You can get a decent ‘S2’ starter safe for about £300 but a safety ‘1’ graded safe approved by the Association of Insurance Surveyors for protecting up to £10,000 worth of cash can set you back £800.

If you want to lock up a £1.5million collection of treasures – or £150,000 in wads of cash – then you can consider investing as much as £10,000 in a ‘6’ graded safe.

CHECK INSURANCE

Valuables are listed on your home insurance policy under ‘personal possessions’ with items worth more than £2,000 often having to be individually listed.

Some insurance companies insist high-value treasures are held in a safe deposit box to get cover.

Any security measures, such as an alarm, must be professionally installed and be up to the standard required by the insurer. You may also be required to carry the safe box keys as security with you when out of the house.

A spokesman for Direct Line says: ‘If a customer has jewellery and watches worth more than £20,000 then we would ask them to be kept in a safe at home – it does not reduce premiums but can be the difference between getting cover and not.’

Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline?

Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual

We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.

You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.